My sky
by Gumnut
Summary: Your sky is unique.


My Sky

My Sky  
By Gumnut  
24 Nov 2005

He was snoring again.

Kitt flicked his scanner over his partner with a great deal of amusement. Sprawled on his hood, supposedly stargazing, in reality sleeping the sleep of the exhausted.

Of course, it had started out as a supposed lesson in constellations. Michael liked to take a moment every now and again to look at the sky at night. Something about his father, a long lost telescope and an attempt at astronomy. Personally Kitt thought the science he was imitating was closer to astrology, but then he kept those thoughts to himself.

Along with most of the celestial mistakes his driver made.

Really, had anyone other than Michael ever heard of the Giant Saucepan constellation?

But then did anyone else really need to know?

At that thought there was a brief spark of humour at what Bonnie's opinion might have been. No, he was definitely keeping this to himself.

He flicked the scanner over Michael again. At least this time he had his jacket on. The desert could be very cold at night. Last time it had been shorts and a t-shirt and a very grumpy, stiff driver once Kitt had decided he had no wish to defrost the snoring man and had woken him. Of course, since it was Michael, a simple nudge was not enough. Experience had taught Kitt that the most effective way to wake his driver involved trumpets and the theme to Star Wars…at full volume. Unfortunately this had also been known to wake every living thing within a two mile radius so he used it sparingly. That time it had earned him an entire morning's worth of glare. Such was the burden of the devoted AI. Hmph. So Michael didn't win a computer game for the entire next week. And had a great deal of difficulty playing his choice in music for several days after that.

Such was the revenge of the devoted AI.

Kitt smirked.

And Michael snored.

He really was going to get a crick in his neck. How he found that position comfortable was beyond Kitt. The briefest of scans told him which muscles were strained, which were cramped, even which were complaining to their owner. Definitely a crick in the neck…which equalled a grumpy driver upon awakening.

He didn't dare wake him, though. The man had been pushing the limits again and needed the rest. In fact it had been Kitt's idea to stop on the side of the road and take in a little stargazing. He'd even urged Michael to drive a little into the desert to get them away from the highway and anything or anyone who might disturb them. Away from noise and lights to where it was quiet.

And private.

Just in case Michael did exactly what he had and fell asleep.

Who says an AI has to reveal all his intentions?

Michael had brought the Trans Am to a halt, sitting quietly in his seat for a moment, his eyes suspiciously on Kitt's dash.

"What are you up to, buddy?"

"Up to, Michael?"

"Don't play innocent with me, pal. I know you're up to something."

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I simply thought we could continue our discussion about the Pleiades. It was interrupted by Devon last time." Something that was not going to happen tonight. Kitt was fully prepared to run interference if necessary.

"You want to know more about the Pleiades?" Michael's tone was one of disbelief.

"I believe that is what I just said, Michael."

His driver arched an eyebrow, appeared to want to say something more, but decided not too. With a sigh he opened the car door and climbed out, stretching his legs. "So what do you want to know?"

"Why are they called the Seven Sisters?" In all actuality, Kitt was quite capable of accessing the information himself without needing to ask his driver, but there was something about being told the story…and there had to be a story behind it all…that Kitt liked. Well, cherished was more the word. A quiet moment with his driver? A moment of friendship? Possibly and probably…he had no real wish to define it, simply to enjoy it.

Michael blinked at him. "Uh, to be honest, Kitt, I'm not sure. Dad used to spin a yarn, but somehow I don't think he knew any more than I do. Don't you have it in your databanks?"

"Possibly."

"Then why are you asking me?"

If Kitt had had eyes and thumbs he would be looking at and twiddling the digits. "Conversation?"

Michael stared at him for a moment. "Okay." And then he had launched into some completely ridiculous story about seven women and a bucket. He soon realised his driver was right. The senior Long didn't know what he was talking about…it was physically impossible to do such a thing with the aforementioned bucket.

Not that Kitt really cared. He only wanted to listen to Michael talk. A well planned distraction from the current case and a reason to get the man to relax. And it was successful, Michael eventually, and not without a suspicious glare in his partner's direction, clambered onto the hood of the Trans Am and lay back to stare at the stars.

There was a silence for a while, a gentle breeze wafting across the desert as the land cooled into the clear sky.

"Kitt, what do you see?"

Electronic blink. "I'm not sure what you mean, Michael."

His driver was gazing up at the stars, his expression whimsical. He gestured upwards with a hand. "I see stars, a midnight blue sky, familiar constellations, tiny pin pricks of light that flicker and change colour with atmospheric fluctuation. That is my sky. What do you see?"

Kitt didn't answer immediately, drawn to a pause by the unusual question. Then a little hesitantly, "I see the same, Michael."

Michael appeared to think about that for a moment, but then frowned as if something had occurred to him. "No, you don't."

"I don't?"

"You're different from me, Kitt."

"Of course, but Michael I can still see what you see."

"No, you can't."

That brought Kitt to a complete halt, confusion and not a little self doubt creeping into his main processor.

Michael must have sensed his hesitation, because he hurried to continue. "Kitt, I'm not saying you can't see what I see…well, yes, I am…but not in a physical sense, more an emotional sense."

"You don't think I feel like you?" More self doubt and a little hurt.

Michael sat up, obviously a little agitated. "No, that's not what I mean at all." He frowned, muttering to himself. "How can I explain?" He looked up at the sky a moment. "Do you see that group of three stars?" He pointed at a trio of bright stars lined up in a row.

"Yes. Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Colloquially known as Orion's belt."

Michael paused at that and considering the expression on his face, Kitt suspected that his driver had not been aware of the star's names until this point. "Yeah, Orion. Have you heard of the Scorpion?"

"Scorpius."

"Yeah, that one. Have you noticed that the two constellations are never in the sky at the same time?"

"Of course."

A raised eyebrow was shot in his direction, through the windshield. "Sometimes I wonder why I bother asking." He paused a moment. "When I was a kid, my father told me the reason was because Orion was the hunter hunting the scorpion. He had an entire elaborate story, much like what he dished out for the seven sisters."

"But they are both clearly incorrect."

"I know that. They are simply stars, Kitt, I'm not stupid." Was that a hint of exasperation? Kitt shut up and waited patiently.

"The point I'm trying to make is that when I look at the sky, apart from seeing bright points of light, I'm reminded of the tales my father told me, of times and of people." He paused again. "I was just wondering what you see."

Kitt sat and thought about that for a moment, turning the concept over and over again in his processor before once again gazing up at the sky.

The familiar dance of remnant solar radiation, mostly infrared, did a hazy waltz across the sky, mixing with the radiated heat the earth was releasing into the night, a pattern of swirls teased by the faint breeze. Higher up in the atmosphere, dust particles buzzed with excitement as the planet's magnetic field playing an unheard symphony. And beyond that, the night sky was filled with billions of stars and the currently visible planets of the Solar System. X-ray pulsars winked at him as the stronger stars forced their colours to his sensors while others shifted in spectrum, the atmosphere corrupting their display.

What did he see? More than Michael, certainly, in the technical sense, but he seriously doubted that was what his driver meant.

What did he see? He stared at Orion's belt, the three main stars bright even against the array of other stars his sensors provided for. Michael's story bounced around his processor. He looked at the Pleiades. Seven women and a bucket. But then he returned to Orion, and Betelgeuse caught a sensor. Michael had pointed that star out once before….and Kitt accessed the memory, another time, another stargazing episode. His scan darted across the sky. Another star, another memory. And another. Realisation began to set in. Memories. Michael, Bonnie. His first night out. Seeing things, realising things. The sky was always there. He could usually see it even if he was confined.

A rainbow drawn on midnight blue.

"Memories. My sky is full of memories."

Michael smiled slightly. "Get what I mean?"

"Yes, I think I do. Our memories may coincide, but they're never exactly the same."

Quietly, "You got it, buddy." And Michael once again relaxed back onto the hood.

Their conversation had wandered from that point, drifting back and forth between stargazing and the current case. Michael was worried about the woman who had called for their help. He had wanted to shift her to a safe location, but she had refused and he couldn't justifiably grab her off the side of the road and lock her in a safe house…well, not yet. It wouldn't be the first time his driver had chosen the drastic option for someone's safety.

Kitt directed the conversation as best he could to keep his driver from focussing on the source of his worry. Stars, women and buckets inevitably came up again at one point, and Kitt dropped a line that had Michael laughing his head off.

The AI simply smiled to himself.

Eventually, his partner relaxed enough to doze off and Kitt quietened down, upping his surveillance mode and simply keeping watch.

But as the night sky rotated above him, he found himself reviewing Michael's words. Memories attached to stars.

And Michael started to snore.

Kitt searched the heavens until he found a star appropriate to his needs. It flickered at him, the atmosphere distorting its emissions. Capturing the moment, he locked it into memory. His position, Michael's position, expression, his words, their conversation, all of it, and hung it on that star. Bellatrix, Orion's left shoulder, now meant much more than it had a few moments ago. And always would.

Michael snorted and smiled in his sleep.

A flickering scan and Kitt's mood reflected his driver's expression, considering playing the sound and possibly the video back to his driver in the morning. He estimated Michael's reaction and chuckled to himself.

Fortunately, there were many more stars available.

-o-o-o-


End file.
